Chapter Summaries

Ye Lin killed the Insect Queen and obtained the Blood Baleful Flag, then learned about its powers from Lu Daosheng. Three Demonic Cultivators led by Yama arrived to seize the flag, and after Ye Lin repelled them, they decided to follow their old plan.

• Ye Lin burned through the Blood Insects and reached the Insect Queen with Lu Daosheng.
• Ye Lin resisted the Insect Queen's soul attack, killed her, and took the Blood Baleful Flag from her corpse.
• Lu Daosheng explained that the Blood Baleful Flag absorbed blood, empowered its master, and could extend their lifespan.
• Yama and two other Demonic Cultivators demanded the flag, but Ye Lin struck them into a cavern wall.
• Yama recognized Ye Lin as a prodigy from a major power and ordered his companions to follow their old plan.

Ye Lin killed Yama and the other Demonic Cultivators, but Lu Daosheng appeared to die after being taken hostage. While traveling toward Ten Thousand Beast City, Ye Lin encountered Li Miaoyin fighting three cultivators and recognized her as the Yin Yang Demon Sect’s Saintess.

• Ye Lin used his Sword Dao Rule to kill a black-clad Demonic Cultivator and then cut Yama in two despite Yama threatening Lu Daosheng.
• A black-clad Demonic Cultivator crushed Lu Daosheng’s throat before Ye Lin killed him, and Ye Lin destroyed the eggs in the cavern with Phoenix Fire.
• After Ye Lin left, Lu Daosheng’s right thumb moved slightly, though Ye Lin continued toward Ten Thousand Beast City believing him dead.
• Ye Lin spotted three cultivators attacking a woman in red and recognized her as Li Miaoyin, the Yin Yang Demon Sect’s Saintess.
• Li Miaoyin shattered the three cultivators’ formation, wounded them, and sent them fleeing in different directions.

Li Miaoyin joined Ye Lin’s Flying Boat after paying him to take her to Ten Thousand Beast City. When Ye Lin revealed that her younger sister Li Miaoling was alive, he demanded the Yin Yang Demon Sect’s Earth Grade Low Tier mental cultivation technique in exchange for her location.

• Li Miaoyin killed the three Nascent Soul Peak men pursuing her, then boarded Ye Lin’s Flying Boat after discovering he was a Nameless Mountain disciple.
• Ye Lin charged Li Miaoyin one thousand High-Tier Spirit Stones for the ride to Ten Thousand Beast City, and she paid before meditating aboard the Flying Boat.
• Ye Lin asked Li Miaoyin whether she knew Li Miaoling, and Li Miaoyin confirmed that Li Miaoling was her younger sister.
• Li Miaoyin recounted how a man in black had taken her away after she and Li Miaoling were born, while she believed her sister had died.
• Ye Lin told Li Miaoyin that Li Miaoling was alive and doing well, then demanded a copy of the Yin Yang Demon Sect’s Earth Grade Low Tier mental cultivation technique in return for her location.

Ye Lin pressured Li Miaoyin into obtaining a copy of the Yin Yang Demon Sect’s mental technique by threatening her long-lost sister, then reached Ten Thousand Beast City. There, Toutian explained the city’s history and offered Ye Lin an expensive map ahead of its opening the next day.

• Li Miaoyin agreed to copy the Yin Yang Demon Sect’s mental technique for Ye Lin within a month after he threatened her sister.
• Li Miaoyin left to return to the Yin Yang Demon Sect, eager to find her long-lost younger sister.
• Ye Lin arrived at Ten Thousand Beast City and met Toutian, who guessed he had come for the city’s opening.
• Toutian explained that Ten Thousand Beast City had been the Beast Taming Sect’s headquarters, sealed by its guardian Flood Dragon after the sect’s destruction.
• Toutian said the city would open the next day and offered Ye Lin a detailed map for one High-Tier Spirit Stone.

Ye Lin learned the location of the Mysterious Stone Stele inside Ten Thousand Beast City and waited for the city’s seal to open. He entered with the gathered cultivators, intent on reaching the stele, while the city’s dangerous history and the old Flood Dragon’s pact shaped what visitors could do.

• Ye Lin paid Toutian two High-Tier Spirit Stones for a map and learned that the Mysterious Stone Stele was in the central great hall.
• Ye Lin memorized the map and meditated while cultivators gathered; three Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivators looked down on him after learning he came from Tianhe Prefecture.
• On the second day, the old Flood Dragon’s seal cracked open, and the cultivators rushed toward Ten Thousand Beast City to search for treasures, especially the Sun True Fire.
• Ye Lin entered the enormous city and saw strange buildings and unburied corpses left from past battles.

Ye Lin searched the central hall of Ten Thousand Beast City for the Stone Stele and prepared to use his Jade Talisman, but Toutian revealed that another similar stele stood at Dragon Tiger Mountain. Ye Lin agreed to swear secrecy after Toutian offered to disclose his identity and locate the other steles, leaving the two poised to make a deal about the Nine Swords.

• Ye Lin entered the hall, found the Stone Stele, and took out his Jade Talisman before Toutian revealed himself from behind it.
• Toutian said Dragon Tiger Mountain had a similar Stone Stele and offered to take Ye Lin there in exchange for learning what the stele contained.
• Toutian identified Ye Lin as Taichu's new disciple and offered the Dragon Tiger Mountain stele if Ye Lin helped him retrieve something from the Dark Forest.
• Ye Lin demanded to know Toutian's identity and refused to rely on his promises, noting that Taichu could claim the other stele himself.
• Toutian offered to reveal his identity and locate the other Stone Steles if Ye Lin swore not to tell anyone, and Ye Lin swore an oath to the Heavenly Dao.

Toutian told Ye Lin that the Central Continent had been devastated by a million years of invasion from the Demon World and warned that a new war could threaten all living beings. He offered to locate the other Stone Steles, but refused to swear an oath to the Heavenly Dao because it would expose him to its notice.

• Toutian explained that he was the ancient Heavenly Secret Pavilion’s sole successor and had come to the Eastern Continent to retrieve a treasured relic from the Dark Forest.
• Toutian revealed that the Central Continent had been overrun by Outer Realm Heavenly Demons, with fewer than one in ten Human Race forces remaining.
• Toutian told Ye Lin that the Demon World was preparing another invasion and that the Heavenly Dao had awakened to help cultivators prepare for the coming war.
• Ye Lin asked Toutian to swear an oath that he could locate the other Stone Steles, but Toutian refused, explaining that the Heavenly Dao would notice him and kill him.

Toutian persuaded Ye Lin to accompany him into the Dark Forest in exchange for revealing the locations of the remaining Stone Steles. After Ye Lin agreed and demanded the Dragon Tiger Mountain Stone Stele first, Toutian hoped he might be the mysterious figure from a vision of the future.

• Ye Lin asked why Toutian wanted him to enter the Dark Forest, and Toutian explained its dangers and why their cultivation levels might let them reach it safely.
• Toutian said he had a treasure that could hide them from powerful remnant souls but needed Ye Lin’s strength against Nascent Soul souls.
• Ye Lin weighed the risks of entering Demon Race territory and accepted Toutian’s offer, provided he received the Dragon Tiger Mountain Stone Stele first.
• Toutian agreed to sneak Ye Lin past Dragon Tiger Mountain’s Sect Protection Array.
• Toutian privately recalled a costly vision of a swordsman facing the Demon World and wondered whether Ye Lin was the figure he had seen.

Ye Lin learned the third sword technique from the Stone Stele and named it Sword Extinguishes All Life. He went outside to find hundreds of Nascent Soul cultivators locked in a stalemate over the Sun True Fire, where they began proposing negotiations.

• Ye Lin refused to tell Toutian what was inside the Stone Stele, and Toutian left after saying the Sun True Fire would emerge in an hour.
• Ye Lin placed the Jade Talisman on the Stone Stele and absorbed the knowledge of a silent sword strike that attacked the soul, naming it Sword Extinguishes All Life.
• Ye Lin discovered that using different swords in sequence doubled the power of each successive sword, and the Nine Swords could be combined into a final strike.
• After hearing fighting outside, Ye Lin went to investigate and saw hundreds of peak Nascent Soul Realm cultivators fighting over the Sun True Fire.
• The cultivators argued over who should claim the Sun True Fire, and one suggested they negotiate to end the stalemate.

Ye Lin seized the Sun True Fire and used Evil Slayer to subdue the cultivators who demanded it. He left Ten Thousand Beast City with the fire, intending to go to Dragon Tiger Mountain for the Stone Stele and another sword technique.

• Ye Lin snatched the Sun True Fire from the sky and suppressed it with his Phoenix Fire.
• Ye Lin summoned Evil Slayer and used the first turn of Sword Extinguishes All Life to wound and immobilize the cultivators who challenged him.
• Ye Lin spared the cultivators, judging that they could help repel other races amid the growing turmoil.
• Ye Lin headed for the exit of Ten Thousand Beast City and set out to seek the Stone Stele at Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Ye Lin swallowed the Sun True Fire and relied on Phoenix Fire to subdue and refine it. After Li Miaoyin exchanged an Earth Grade Low Tier spiritual martial technique for Li Miaoling’s location, Ye Lin revealed that Li Miaoling was the Sect Master of the Azure Cloud Sect.

• Ye Lin swallowed the Sun True Fire, and Phoenix Fire subdued it before beginning to refine it in his dantian.
• Li Miaoyin arrived and gave Ye Lin the Yin Yang Demon Sect’s guardian technique in exchange for Li Miaoling’s location.
• Ye Lin checked the technique’s contents, confirmed they were genuine, and asked Li Miaoyin for a map of Tianhe Prefecture.
• Li Miaoyin showed Ye Lin the map, and he pointed out the region where Li Miaoling was located.
• Ye Lin told Li Miaoyin that Li Miaoling was the Sect Master of the Azure Cloud Sect, and Li Miaoyin quickly left.

Li Miaoyin revealed that she intended to kill Li Miaoling and absorb the Yang energy in her body to perfect her cultivation, then target Ye Lin. Meanwhile, Toutian rejoined Ye Lin and urged him to hurry to Dragon Tiger Mountain before war made it impossible to enter Demon Race territory.

• Ye Lin reflected that Li Miaoyin's eagerness to find Li Miaoling must have a hidden purpose, though he had already achieved his own goal.
• Li Miaoyin revealed that she planned to devour Li Miaoling and reclaim the Yang energy in her body to perfect her Yin-Yang constitution.
• Li Miaoyin decided that after killing Li Miaoling, she would target Ye Lin.
• Toutian returned to Ye Lin dusty and disheveled after visiting a fascinating place.
• Toutian urged Ye Lin to go to Dragon Tiger Mountain and then the Dark Forest quickly, before war blocked access to Demon Race territory.

Ye Lin and Toutian traveled to Dragon Tiger Mountain to steal its Stone Stele without alerting its experts. They arrived under cover of night, and Toutian began erasing their traces before they entered the mountain’s Sect Protection Array.

• Ye Lin agreed to follow Toutian north and took him aboard the Flying Boat toward Dragon Tiger Mountain.
• Toutian explained that they would approach on foot and avoid attracting the attention of Dragon Tiger Mountain’s experts.
• After five hours, Ye Lin put away the Flying Boat, and the pair secretly made their way toward the mountain.
• Toutian showed Ye Lin Dragon Tiger Mountain and warned him that its Sect Protection Array would attack intruders with increasingly powerful Spirit Transformation Realm strikes.
• Toutian took out a Compass and formed hand seals to erase their traces from the heavenly secrets while Ye Lin kept watch.

Toutian concealed his and Ye Lin’s auras and heavenly secrets, then led Ye Lin past Dragon Tiger Mountain’s defenses and patrols. They reached a crowded mountain where the Stone Stele stood at the summit, but Toutian spotted a problem.

• Toutian used the Compass to conceal both their heavenly secrets and auras for half an hour.
• Toutian and Ye Lin slipped into Dragon Tiger Mountain without triggering its Sect Protection Array.
• Toutian guided Ye Lin past the disciples’ patrols and deep into the mountain.
• Toutian stopped at a small peak and pointed out that the Stone Stele stood atop a nearby mountain crowded with disciples.

Ye Lin and Toutian reached the Stone Stele beside a Dao Integration True Lord, whose Dao resonance nearly trapped Ye Lin in a trance. Toutian used his remaining essence to protect Ye Lin, who stole the Stone Stele and escaped, while the True Lord opened his eyes and watched him go.

• Toutian warned Ye Lin not to look at the middle-aged cultivator, explaining that he was a Dao Integration True Lord whose Dao resonance could make Ye Lin lose himself.
• With little time left, Toutian smeared golden blood on Ye Lin's forehead and formed sigils to shield him from the True Lord's detection.
• Toutian left first to get beyond Dragon Tiger Mountain while Ye Lin rushed to the summit.
• Ye Lin closed his eyes, stored the Stone Stele in his Spatial Ring, and flew away at full speed.
• After Ye Lin had escaped, the middle-aged cultivator opened his eyes and smiled as he looked into the distance.

After stealing the Stone Stele from Dragon Tiger Mountain, Ye Lin and Toutian set out for the Dark Forest in Demon Race territory. They concealed their Flying Boat and continued toward Black Mountain Prefecture, though Toutian urged Ye Lin to hurry.

• The middle-aged cultivator recognized Ye Lin and Toutian, suspected their theft, and decided to demand Immortal Brew from Taichu in exchange for the stolen treasure.
• Ye Lin left Dragon Tiger Mountain and met Toutian outside, confirming that he had obtained the Stone Stele.
• Toutian asked Ye Lin to accompany him to the Dark Forest, and Ye Lin agreed on condition that Toutian later reveal the locations of the remaining steles.
• Ye Lin piloted the Flying Boat toward the Demon Race's territory while Toutian placed strange objects around it and made it invisible.
• Toutian claimed even a Spirit Transformation Demon Venerable would not detect them, then urged Ye Lin to fly faster.

Ye Lin and Toutian traveled by Flying Boat into the Demon Race's territory, heading for the Dark Forest. After three days, they reached the Demon Race heartland and turned left toward their destination, wary of being discovered.

• Toutian urged Ye Lin to speed up, then paid five thousand High-Tier Spirit Stones to run the Flying Boat at full speed.
• Ye Lin declined to use the Flying Boat's much faster spatial-barrier mode because it would cost three hundred and sixty thousand High-Tier Spirit Stones.
• The Flying Boat entered Demon Race territory, where Ye Lin saw Demon Beasts roaming and Human Race tribes kept as livestock.
• Toutian remained silent and nurtured his origin as they traveled.
• After three days, Ye Lin asked where the Dark Forest was, then steered left into the Demon Race heartland.

Ye Lin and Toutian entered the Dark Forest to recover a Heavenly Secret Pavilion treasure that Toutian believed had created the forest. Toutian sensed the treasure nearby and hurried ahead, while Ye Lin remained wary of the unseen ghosts.

• Toutian examined the Compass before he and Ye Lin reached the Dark Forest by Flying Boat.
• Toutian said his Heavenly Secret Pavilion's treasure lay at the forest's center and that it had caused the Dark Forest to form.
• Toutian and Ye Lin landed after the treasure sealed the skies above the forest, then continued on foot.
• Ye Lin wondered whether taking the treasure would anger the ghosts, and Toutian warned him not to say it aloud.
• Toutian sensed the treasure nearby and sprinted toward it as Ye Lin drew Evil Slayer and watched for ghosts.

Ye Lin and Toutian were surrounded by ghosts in the Dark Forest, where they discovered a Demon True Person who had somehow retained his sanity despite the Demons’ efforts to keep Spirit Transformation Realm souls out. The Demon ordered the ghosts to capture them, but Ye Lin destroyed the surrounding horde with a single sword strike.

• Toutian noticed that countless ghosts from various races had surrounded him and Ye Lin.
• A Demon True Person demanded to know how the humans had entered Demon territory and threatened to torture them.
• Toutian questioned how the Spirit Transformation Realm ghost had remained sane, since the Demons had prevented such souls from entering the Dark Forest for a thousand years.
• The Demon True Person ordered the ghosts to seize Ye Lin and Toutian for questioning.
• Ye Lin used Sword One, Sword Slashes the Firmament, to scatter the surrounding ghosts completely.

Toutian used the Heavenly Secret Pavilion’s treasure to restrain the Spirit Transformation Demon Cultivator, allowing him and Ye Lin to continue through the Dark Forest. As the demon sent swarms of souls after them, Ye Lin struggled to keep fighting, and Toutian warned that their survival depended on him holding out.

• The Spirit Transformation Demon Beast tried to grab Ye Lin and Toutian, but Toutian used the Heavenly Secret Pavilion’s treasure to stop him.
• Toutian explained that the treasure restricted powerful souls living in the Dark Forest, then led the way as Ye Lin cut down the ghosts blocking them.
• The Spirit Transformation Demon Cultivator sent the drifting souls surging toward Ye Lin and Toutian.
• Ye Lin and Toutian found themselves surrounded by an ever-growing sea of ghosts, and Ye Lin’s sword arm began to ache.
• Toutian urged Ye Lin to hold on and regretted not bringing more Nascent Soul cultivators.